5 Best Shopping in Veracruz, Mexico

Callejón del Diamante, also known as Calle Antonio M. Rivera, is a captivating pedestrian street with vendors hawking inexpensive jewelry, handwoven baskets, and fleece-lined slippers.

For a slice of Mexican life, head to the wildly vibrant Mercado Hidalgo, where you'll find artful displays of strawberries and chilies beside platters of cow eyeballs and chicken feet.

The teeming Mercado Miguel Hidalgo, half a block downhill from the main square, sells Totonac costumes, carvings, baskets, and shoulder bags. It's a daily market, but is much busier on weekends. The real draw is vanilla, the region's chief product, which is sold in every conceivable form. Especially lovely are flowers made from the dried vanilla pods.

Stands lining the Paseo del Malecón sell ocean-related items: seashells and the beauty creams and powders derived from them; Coatepec coffee; T-shirts; and tacky stuffed frogs, iguanas, and armadillos.

The Plaza de las Artesanías Miguel Alemán market on the Paseo de Malecón purveys high-quality goods, including leather and jewelry, with high prices to match. It's open daily 11 to 8.